Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940

Architect, of Dublin. Richard Harman was brought to Dublin from London by JAMES GANDON  JAMES GANDON in March 1782 to act as clerk of works for the building of the Custom House.(1) He succeeded THOMAS IVORY  THOMAS IVORY as Surveyor of the Revenue Buildings in 1787,(2) but was dismissed for fraud in 1801.(3) Apart from a drawing for Portlaoise gaol in the collection of Thomas Pakenham, the only other drawing by Harman known at present is a detail drawing for a column inscribed 'For the Marquess of Downshire's Dining Parlour' and signed and dated 1789, in the National Library of Ireland;(4) the house in question was probably Downshire House, Co. Wicklow.

Harman may have married in Dublin, as the parish registers of St Thomas's Church, Dublin, record the christening of Ross Elizabeth, daughter of Richard and Mary Harman on 23 November 1788.(5) He is presumably the Richard Harman who was admitted a freeman of the City of Dublin as a member of the Guild of Carpenters by Grace Especial at Christmas 1794(6) and who was one of the Guild's representatives on the Common Council of Dublin in 1799.(7)

'Mr Harman' was a subscriber to Thomas Malton's, The Seats and Demesnes of the nobility and gentry of Ireland (Dublin, 1783-1794).

Addresses:(8) 6 Marlborough St, 1790; 25 Summerhill, 1791-1800.

See WORKS.



References



(1) T.J. Mulvany, The Life of James Gandon, Esq. (1846; reprinted 1969 with introduction, notes, appendices and index by Maurice Craig), 58.
(2) The Freeman's Journal, 30 Jan-1 Feb 1787.
(3) E.McParland, James Gandon (1985), 193 (Chapter 3, note 3).
(4) NLI 2351; see Eugenie Carr, 'A catalogue of the Stapleton family collection of Drawings in the National Library of Irealnd', unpublished MA thesis, University College, Dublin, 1985, 158; other unsigned drawings for the same? room are in this collection (NLI 2243,2288). The designs could be for Hillsborough Castle, Co. Down, for the Marquess's Dublin residence in Gloucester Street or perhaps most probably for Blessington House, Co. Wicklow.
(5) R. Refaussé, ed., Register of the Parish of St Thomas, Dublin, 1750-1791 (RCB, 1994), 75.
(6) 'An alphabetical list of the Freemen of the City of Dublin, 1774-1824', The Irish Ancestor XV (1983), Nos. 1 & 2, 59.
(7) CARD XV, 535.
(8) From Wilson's Dublin Directory.


3 work entries listed in chronological order for HARMAN, RICHARD


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Building: CO. DUBLIN, DUBLIN, CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY, CUSTOM HOUSE
Date: 1782
Nature: RH brought from London 1782 to be James Gandon's Clerk of Works at Custom House.
Refs: T.J. Mulvany, The Life of James Gandon, Esq. (1856; reprinted 1969 with introduction, notes, appendices and index by Maurice Craig), 58

Building: CO. LAOIS, PORTLAOISE, COUNTY GAOL (OLD)
Date: 1789-90
Nature: FS laid 28 Jul 1789.
Refs: Unsigned elevation and plan in collection of Thomas Pakenham, Tullynally Castle, M37; Faulkner's Journal, 4-6 Aug 1789; Bolger MSS, NA/PRO 1A 58/124

Building: CO. WICKLOW, BLESSINGTON, DOWNSHIRE HOUSE
Date: 1789ca
Nature: Improvements (to house built by Primate Michael Boyle ante 1678) by RH, for Wills Hill, lst Marquess of Downshire. (House burnt 1798)
Refs: Detail drawing of column 'For the Marques of Downshire's Dining Parlour', s. & d. 'R. Harman, Aug 31st 1789' in NLI, Stapleton Collection 2351, see Eugenie Carr, 'A catalogue of the Stapleton family collection of Drawings in the National Library of Ireland', unpublished MA thesis, University College, Dublin, 1985, 158,Pl.56a